Sunday, October 30, 2011

The World Turned Upside Down

This from the NYTimes: "Like many of his mayoral colleagues nationwide, Mr. Reed [Mayor of Atlanta] openly expressed frustration with the [Occupy] protesters’ methods."

Quoting Mayor Reed - “The attitude I have seen here is not consistent with any civil rights protests I have seen in Atlanta and certainly not consistent with the most respected forms of civil disobedience.”

Only in the distorted world of American politics could an African American politician criticize protestors with a convoluted phrase like - "the most respected forms of civil disobedience."

What exactly is the mayor referring to? Does he expect Martin Luther King in a suit and tie to lead every Occupy march? Or perhaps it's the lack of sanitary facilities at the encampments. We could solve that problem with dual public bathrooms, you know protester and non-protester or the 99% and the 1%. I wonder if the mayor would have any issues with those separate but equal facilities.

What we have here is yet another co-opted politician sucking at the corporate teat and seeking to justify his actions by invoking some set of rules about appropriate protesting. Did I miss that lesson in my high school Civics class? The Approved Rules of Protest 101.

What I didn't miss was the facts on the ground that any politician can be bought and paid for. Welcome to the Club Mayor Reed, you know it used to be an all white club, now it's simply all wealthy and their well paid lackeys. Why not bring out the fire hoses and the dogs. Is Bull Connor still alive?